npv708 wrote:But I don't think the 3 of us will ever agree and I need to go pack my mountain climbing gear so I can be fully prepared to go over this cliff I keep hearing about.

Agreed. I was counting on the Mayan apocalypse to save us from the dreaded fiscal cliff. Most don't agree with me but to me depending on politicians to save us from anything validates my views that less government is good government.These clowns built the cliff and are now jockeying for position to save us.

A brand-new poll from Gallup shows that a record number of Americans now oppose hangun bans: 74% opposed versus 24% in favor. That's the highest opposition since Gallup started asking the question in 1959. And a majority also opposes a ban on semi-automatic rifles: 51% vs. 44%. http://www.gallup.com/poll/159569/ameri ... -bans.aspx

A 58% majority does say that they would prefer stricter gun laws, but breaking down those numbers reveals a virtual tie between those who want new gun laws (47%) and those who want only a stricter enforcement of existing laws (46%). Thus, there is no consensus on how gun laws should be made more strict.

shafnutz05 wrote:The change over the last 15 years in public polling re: the assault weapons ban is stunning.

Ownership of so-called assault weapons has also skyrocketed over the last 15 years, and especially since the 2004 sunset of the last AWB. They’ve been some of the hottest-selling guns for years, and that dates back to long before Obama was elected. According to ar15.com, there are over 100 companies that manufacture (or at least assemble) AR-15–pattern rifles. To be honest, I can’t think of anywhere near that many companies making any other sort of gun. I mean, the 1911 is one of the most popular handguns in the United States and has been for years, and there are plenty of companies making them, but I don’t think there are anywhere near 100.

The White House said today it has no plans to offer new proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff which looms over the country's economy just five days from now, but will meet Friday with Congressional leaders in a last ditch effort to forge a deal.

Republicans and Democrats made no conciliatory gestures in public today, despite the urgency.

The White House said President Obama would meet Friday with Democratic and Republican leaders. But a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said the Republican(s) "will continue to stress that the House has already passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff and now the Senate must act."

The White House announced the meeting after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the budget situation "a mess" and urged the president to present a fresh proposal.

"I told the president I would be happy to look at whatever he proposes, but the truth is we're coming up against a hard deadline here, and as I said, this is a conversation we should have had months ago," McConnell said of his phone call with Obama Wednesday night.

McConnell added, "Republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything Senate Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff."

"That having been said, we'll see what the president has to propose," the Republican Senate leader said.

But a senior White House official told ABC News, "There is no White House bill."

That statement, however, may have wiggle room. Earlier today White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "I don't have any meetings to announce," but a short time later, Friday's meeting was made public.

It's unclear if the two sides are playing a game of political chicken or whether the administration is braced for the fiscal cliff.